Key Points

Out of this, 8.59 lakh metric tonnes of wheat have been lifted.

A government spokesperson said wheat has been procured from more than 2 lakh farmers, and Rs 1,400 crore has been transferred directly to the farmers' bank accounts.

Last year, 18.24 lakh metric tonnes of wheat were procured till April 16.

Also, the purchase of mustard was started on March 15. The work of purchase is being done by two procurement agencies -- HAFED and the Haryana Warehousing Corporation. The spokesperson said 4.93 lakh metric tons of mustard has been procured in the state till April 16. The mustard has been purchased from 171,000 farmers and Rs 1,843 crore has been transferred directly to the bank accounts of farmers.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini has sought exemption from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on 10 agricultural implements used in crop residue management. In a missive to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan last month, he said that stubble burning has become a major issue, adversely impacting the health of the people, but the state’s farmers are adopting advanced technologies and utilising the latest agricultural implements for crop residue management.

Over the past few years, both the Centre and the state government have been providing subsidies on machinery for crop residue management. Noting the reduction in stubble burning incidents in 2024, compared to 2023, Saini said that the state government has developed an action plan for 2025, which includes a provision for a subsidy of Rs 200 crore for the purchase of crop residue management machines. The total cost of these machines is expected to be around Rs 500 crore, with an additional burden of about Rs 60 crore on farmers due to GST (12 per cent).

- IANS